Facebook has greatly improved my memory.\u00a0\u00a0So many times a memory has popped up on Facebook, and I\u2019m like, wow, I forgot that happened.\u00a0\u00a0Here\u2019s a little tip \u2013 if you need to remember a key moment in your significant other\u2019s life, your child\u2019s life, your work life, etc, post it on Facebook.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s like an online diary.\u00a0\u00a0Oh wait, diaries are supposed to be private.\u00a0\u00a0Well, the secret benefit is each year you\u2019ll be reminded of that special moment in your loved one\u2019s life, and you can \u201cpretend\u201d you remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of those recent Facebook memories left me with tears streaming down my face.\u00a0\u00a0For most of my 22-year battle with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), I kept my struggles to myself.\u00a0\u00a0I didn\u2019t tell most of my family and hardly any friends.\u00a0\u00a0Such as it goes with invisible illnesses, it was easy to keep hidden from most.\u00a0\u00a0I could be standing right across from you, eyes locked, and you would have no idea what was going on behind those eyes.\u00a0\u00a0I didn\u2019t want you to know.\u00a0\u00a0It would mean I was weak.\u00a0\u00a0It would mean you might feel obligated to show me sympathy I did not want.\u00a0\u00a0It would mean you might tell me not to do something I wanted to do.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually, I learned that I could help others by sharing my personal struggles.\u00a0\u00a0I started posting my health challenges, along with information about POTS on Facebook.\u00a0\u00a0A whole new world opened up.\u00a0\u00a0I wasn\u2019t alone.\u00a0\u00a0People I had looked in the eyes had struggles I knew nothing about.\u00a0\u00a0Others who had similar symptoms realized they weren\u2019t alone and now believed it wasn\u2019t all in their heads.\u00a0\u00a0There was a potential physical reason for why they felt the way they did.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides posting my challenges, I also posted an occasional victory.\u00a0\u00a0On February 1, 2018, I told my Facebook world that I had a zero-POTS-symptom day.\u00a0\u00a0By then I was having symptoms nearly every single day \u2013 ranging from mild to severe.\u00a0\u00a0Zero-symptom days were few and far between.\u00a0\u00a0When those days happened, my excitement was overwhelming.\u00a0\u00a0I wanted everyone to know.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am a numbers girl.\u00a0\u00a0One number I like is how many days until a special moment in my life.\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s an app for that.\u00a0\u00a0I have a countdown\/count-up app on my phone.\u00a0\u00a0Most of the time it is set to tell me how many months, weeks, days, and yes, even minutes, until my next black belt test.\u00a0\u00a0After reading my memory, I decided to see how long it had been since October 28, 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
460\u2026.460 days since my healing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just two years prior, I was so ecstatic about ONE zero-symptom day that I posted it on Facebook.\u00a0\u00a0I now had FOUR HUNDRED AND SIXTY zero-symptom days.\u00a0\u00a0The sheer number was so overwhelming, a floodgate opened.\u00a0\u00a0My face was drenched in tears.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On February 1, 2018, I would not have imagined what my life is like now \u2013 460 plus days of no POTS symptoms, a stay-at-home mom writing a book, and an aspiring martial arts instructor.\u00a0\u00a0Well, by then I could certainly imagine the latter.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Facebook has greatly improved my memory.\u00a0\u00a0So many times a memory has popped up on Facebook, and I\u2019m like, wow, I forgot that happened.\u00a0\u00a0Here\u2019s a little tip \u2013 if you need…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n